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Triathlon For Kids Coming

While the staff of TampaSportsFitness continues to deal with the dual disappointments of the Lightning’s road record and the removal of wrestling as an Olympic sport, it was suggested by our editor that we go find something to write about that would cheer everyone up. And boy, did we ever.

Now, TampaSportsFitness covers a great deal of running events. We do this for a number of reasons: the bay area weather allows for almost year-round running events, the scenery is wonderful and it emphasizes the notion that running is good for you while biking and swimming is good for you yet more challenging. But TampaSportsFitness also likes to cover offbeat races, such as Tough Mudder and numerous zombie runs that have been making more and more of an appearance lately. And this past week we received notice of an event that piqued our curiosity something fierce.

With that, TampaSportsFitness wants all of our readers to know about the inaugural Tampa Bay Kids Triathlon at (wait for it) Adventure Island on Saturday, March 9, at 7 a.m.

How cool is this?

The event, hosted on Adventure Island season-opening day prior to the park opening at 10 a.m., provides youth the opportunity to run, bike, and swim in and around Busch Gardens’ water park.

Focusing on children ages 7-10 (junior varsity division) and 11-15 (varsity division), entrants will receive an Under Armour participant T-shirt, a finisher’s medal, as well as the opportunity to purchase Adventure Island single day admission tickets at a discounted cost (up to six), to be able to enjoy the park after the triathlon.

The course for both divisions will be the same, although the varsity division has to loop through each area twice. Starting in the park, participants will swim through the Rambling Bayou lazy river before transitioning to bikes and racing to the Busch Gardens parking lot down the road (using Greenwood Avenue to avoid the traffic on 40th Street). After riding around the exterior of the lot, riders make their way back to the park for a run around the field behind Adventure Island and ending in the volleyball courts.

Registration fees are $35 per participant in advance and $40 on the day of the race. The registration packet will be available for pickup on Friday, March 8, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the registration tent across the street from the event parking lot on Bougainvillea Avenue. Participants are encouraged to pick up their packet and drop off their bikes on Friday to avoid the Saturday morning congestion (registration pickup on Saturday starts at 5:30 a.m.). Overnight security will be provided. After a review for participants at 6:45 a.m., the race will get underway at 7 a.m.

So what’s got TampaSportsFitness so excited? In addition to being a child’s event that encourages physical and outdoor activity, it combines a triathlon with one of the bay area’s signature destinations during one of the best times to be outdoors (provided the weather cooperates, of course). Anyone interested can contact Claire Lessinger at 813-342-4075, or CLessinger@VisitTampaBay.com.